Friday, May 30, 2003
Georgie's grades on one of his pet projects "How To Make Our World Safer" are not looking real good.
Washington's "war on terror" has made the world more dangerous. Curbing human rights, undermining international law and shielding governments from scrutiny has let loose a number of copy cat government policies that has spread as fast as Sars cases in China.
The argument for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was to bring greater freedom for the Iraqi people. That has yet to be seen. The politics and distraction of the war in Iraq has had unintended, negative consequences for millions of people worldwide.
The Bush Administration's war in Iraq has contributed to diminishing human rights for millions of others worldwide," said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "While billions were spent to dethrone Saddam Hussein, dictators and rebels elsewhere wreaked havoc on millions of people across the globe with little attention and even less condemnation from the US government or the international community."
The administration is hurting the fragile cease-fire in the Ivory Coast, a former French colony, by undercutting the French proposal for United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in the African nation as a penalty for France's opposition to the war in Iraq. The UN Human Rights Commission became ensnared in US-Iraq relations
The Congo conflict has claimed between 3.1 and 4.7 million lives, mainly from war-related hunger and disease, since it began, making it the world's deadliest war since 1945.
Ruta and her family lived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. Warefare broke out between the Lendu and the rival Hema group.
Ruta managed to escape with most of her family, although two of her brothers were killed before they reached safety in the nearby forest. After going deeper into the woods for two days without food and water, she thought she had finally reached safety when out of nowhere the militiamen, from the Lendu tribe, struck again. Ruta became separated from two of her daughters, as bullets flew everywhere. Her daughters named Mateso, aged 12, and Michelle, had just turned two.
After securing the rest of her family in another hiding place, Ruta crept back to the clearing to try to rescue the girls. "There were many wounded people" she said. "The Lendu were going about with machetes, chopping off one arm from the shoulder and then the other. Some people were screaming but most were silent.
She found them after their arms had already been cut off." The militiamen calmly cooked the flesh over an open fire before throwing their victims, some of whom were still alive, into the flames. "They were both moving, although very weakly," Ruta said.
Civilians have become so caught up in the violence, around 4,000 are sheltering at the town's airport, where a small deployment of some 700 lightly-armed UN peacekeepers are currently deployed.
Well-armed ethnic Hema fighters have taken control of Bunia having forced out Lendu militiamen who had been in control for the past week after a two-hour battle, say United Nations officials in the town.
Despite the presence of the 700 UN peacekeepers already in Bunia to monitor the withdrawal, rival Hema and Lendu tribesmen fought viciously for supremacy in the town.
The peacekeepers had repeatedly warned the UN that a bloodbath was likely and requested reinforcements.
The U.S tabled any efforts by the French to get more troops into the Congo before the latest bout of bloodshed. The Bush administration vowed that they would get even with France for their opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Subsequently, Washington has shown no interest in sending troops to any location where the French sought to get more UN peacekeepers.
The United States opposed a French-backed U.N. proposal to send more than 250 U.N. peacekeepers to Ivory Coast. The country was mired in civil strife until a force of more than 4,000 French peacekeepers and 1,200 West African troops was sent.
Lacking the firepower, equipment or mandate to intervene, they retreated powerless to their compound and watched.
A French-led force of peace-keepers hoping to halt killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to receive United Nations approval today. The 1,000-strong battalion, including some British troops, could be deployed as early as next week.
But in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, fears were growing of a fresh onslaught. A fierce battle for the town two weeks ago saw the ethnic Lendu population expelled by militia from the rival Hema group. Now the Lendu may be preparing a counter-attack.
"Some of their positions are only five kilometres from here. They are regrouping for another attack," said an official in the razor-wire protected UN compound. "We think it's not a matter of if, but when."
Red Cross workers are still burying corpses from the latest attack, sparked by a Ugandan withdrawal from the town on 7 May. Tribal militiamen armed with, guns, spears and machetes bludgeoned or shot to death more than 400 people. Some mutilated bodies bore evidence of cannibalism.
Thousands of terrified civilians huddled under plastic shelters in the UN compound, manned by a deployment of about 700 peace-keepers, the majority of whom are Uruguayan. During the massacres, the troops obeyed orders to remain at the base.
If there is quiet, it is only because the Lendu have fled. But there is a steady drip of violence - isolated shootings by night, some looting by day and the rape of girls as young as 10. Their uniformed male schoolmates roam the half-deserted streets, swinging sub-machine guns they are barely big enough to handle.
The bandaged victims of the latest massacres stand against the walls of a coffee warehouse used as a temporary hospital. One woman awaiting evacuation had part of her brain exposed. Kabagambe Lokana, 25, a fisherman, sat near by, a ring of machete wounds around his head. He only survived the attack by the Hema after being left for dead, he said. His father, brothers and uncles were killed.
There has been steady criticism of the under-resourced DRC UN mission. "It is a long, bad story", said François Grignon of the International Crisis Group at Bunia airport. He shouted to be heard as a cargo plane full of refugees fired its engine for take-off .
But to prevent further massacres, the question now is the strength of the mandate. France's ambassador to the UN, Jean-Marc de la Sablière, wants his men to have the right to open fire to protect endangered civilians.
Any strengthened mission would also have to examine the possibility of intervening in disputes outside the city in isolated villages that are difficult to reach. M. Grignon said: "Look, this town is bloody empty. The force needs to be able to stop massacres taking place in the rural areas."
Atrocities such as the massacre at Nyakunde village last year, which left 1,200 dead, could be taking place. But for now, nobody knows because the area is inaccessible to UN troops and aid agencies.
Meanwhile in Bunia, civilians, aid workers and UN troops are praying for relief from the uncertainty - and fast.
If those poor people only knew how Bush would "get even" with France, I know they would have prayed for Gore to win the election. It's too late for the dead and dying, they are just more deaths, Bush will have to answer for one day.
Sources cited:
Robert Fisk
Johann Hari: independent portfolio
Declan Walsh in Bunia
Adrian Blomfield in Bunia
Washington's "war on terror" has made the world more dangerous. Curbing human rights, undermining international law and shielding governments from scrutiny has let loose a number of copy cat government policies that has spread as fast as Sars cases in China.
The argument for the overthrow of Saddam Hussein was to bring greater freedom for the Iraqi people. That has yet to be seen. The politics and distraction of the war in Iraq has had unintended, negative consequences for millions of people worldwide.
The Bush Administration's war in Iraq has contributed to diminishing human rights for millions of others worldwide," said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA). "While billions were spent to dethrone Saddam Hussein, dictators and rebels elsewhere wreaked havoc on millions of people across the globe with little attention and even less condemnation from the US government or the international community."
The administration is hurting the fragile cease-fire in the Ivory Coast, a former French colony, by undercutting the French proposal for United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in the African nation as a penalty for France's opposition to the war in Iraq. The UN Human Rights Commission became ensnared in US-Iraq relations
The Congo conflict has claimed between 3.1 and 4.7 million lives, mainly from war-related hunger and disease, since it began, making it the world's deadliest war since 1945.
Ruta and her family lived in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. Warefare broke out between the Lendu and the rival Hema group.
Ruta managed to escape with most of her family, although two of her brothers were killed before they reached safety in the nearby forest. After going deeper into the woods for two days without food and water, she thought she had finally reached safety when out of nowhere the militiamen, from the Lendu tribe, struck again. Ruta became separated from two of her daughters, as bullets flew everywhere. Her daughters named Mateso, aged 12, and Michelle, had just turned two.
After securing the rest of her family in another hiding place, Ruta crept back to the clearing to try to rescue the girls. "There were many wounded people" she said. "The Lendu were going about with machetes, chopping off one arm from the shoulder and then the other. Some people were screaming but most were silent.
She found them after their arms had already been cut off." The militiamen calmly cooked the flesh over an open fire before throwing their victims, some of whom were still alive, into the flames. "They were both moving, although very weakly," Ruta said.
Civilians have become so caught up in the violence, around 4,000 are sheltering at the town's airport, where a small deployment of some 700 lightly-armed UN peacekeepers are currently deployed.
Well-armed ethnic Hema fighters have taken control of Bunia having forced out Lendu militiamen who had been in control for the past week after a two-hour battle, say United Nations officials in the town.
Despite the presence of the 700 UN peacekeepers already in Bunia to monitor the withdrawal, rival Hema and Lendu tribesmen fought viciously for supremacy in the town.
The peacekeepers had repeatedly warned the UN that a bloodbath was likely and requested reinforcements.
The U.S tabled any efforts by the French to get more troops into the Congo before the latest bout of bloodshed. The Bush administration vowed that they would get even with France for their opposition to the invasion of Iraq. Subsequently, Washington has shown no interest in sending troops to any location where the French sought to get more UN peacekeepers.
The United States opposed a French-backed U.N. proposal to send more than 250 U.N. peacekeepers to Ivory Coast. The country was mired in civil strife until a force of more than 4,000 French peacekeepers and 1,200 West African troops was sent.
Lacking the firepower, equipment or mandate to intervene, they retreated powerless to their compound and watched.
A French-led force of peace-keepers hoping to halt killings in the Democratic Republic of Congo is expected to receive United Nations approval today. The 1,000-strong battalion, including some British troops, could be deployed as early as next week.
But in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, fears were growing of a fresh onslaught. A fierce battle for the town two weeks ago saw the ethnic Lendu population expelled by militia from the rival Hema group. Now the Lendu may be preparing a counter-attack.
"Some of their positions are only five kilometres from here. They are regrouping for another attack," said an official in the razor-wire protected UN compound. "We think it's not a matter of if, but when."
Red Cross workers are still burying corpses from the latest attack, sparked by a Ugandan withdrawal from the town on 7 May. Tribal militiamen armed with, guns, spears and machetes bludgeoned or shot to death more than 400 people. Some mutilated bodies bore evidence of cannibalism.
Thousands of terrified civilians huddled under plastic shelters in the UN compound, manned by a deployment of about 700 peace-keepers, the majority of whom are Uruguayan. During the massacres, the troops obeyed orders to remain at the base.
If there is quiet, it is only because the Lendu have fled. But there is a steady drip of violence - isolated shootings by night, some looting by day and the rape of girls as young as 10. Their uniformed male schoolmates roam the half-deserted streets, swinging sub-machine guns they are barely big enough to handle.
The bandaged victims of the latest massacres stand against the walls of a coffee warehouse used as a temporary hospital. One woman awaiting evacuation had part of her brain exposed. Kabagambe Lokana, 25, a fisherman, sat near by, a ring of machete wounds around his head. He only survived the attack by the Hema after being left for dead, he said. His father, brothers and uncles were killed.
There has been steady criticism of the under-resourced DRC UN mission. "It is a long, bad story", said François Grignon of the International Crisis Group at Bunia airport. He shouted to be heard as a cargo plane full of refugees fired its engine for take-off .
But to prevent further massacres, the question now is the strength of the mandate. France's ambassador to the UN, Jean-Marc de la Sablière, wants his men to have the right to open fire to protect endangered civilians.
Any strengthened mission would also have to examine the possibility of intervening in disputes outside the city in isolated villages that are difficult to reach. M. Grignon said: "Look, this town is bloody empty. The force needs to be able to stop massacres taking place in the rural areas."
Atrocities such as the massacre at Nyakunde village last year, which left 1,200 dead, could be taking place. But for now, nobody knows because the area is inaccessible to UN troops and aid agencies.
Meanwhile in Bunia, civilians, aid workers and UN troops are praying for relief from the uncertainty - and fast.
If those poor people only knew how Bush would "get even" with France, I know they would have prayed for Gore to win the election. It's too late for the dead and dying, they are just more deaths, Bush will have to answer for one day.
Sources cited:
Robert Fisk
Johann Hari: independent portfolio
Declan Walsh in Bunia
Adrian Blomfield in Bunia
# posted by Thomas @ 1:22 AM 
